The worst news – OK, the second-worst news – that could have struck the Oklahoma City Thunder hit with lightning force today with the announcement that Russell Westbrook needs knee surgery and could be out for the remainder of the playoffs. So what does this mean for the Thunder? Other than the obvious – they are losing their highest-volume shooter, second-leading scorer and primary facilitator? It’s welcome to the big time, Reggie Jackson. You are about to replace a player who averages
We already know the winners of the Most Improved Player award, the Sixth Man Award and the Defensive Player of the Year. Rookie of the Year will be a runaway, as will MVP. Coach of the Year? That is one of the biggest mysteries remaining in this NBA postseason — along with the question of whether the Miami Heat will ever lose a game. I have a tremendous history with coaches. It started by growing up with an NBA Coach of the
We ran a similar poll to this one a month ago, and Mike Woodson was the winner by a resounding margin. Now we are setting the reset button and starting over, given that Coach of the Year it is the only award for which there is any suspense now that we know that Marc Gasol is the Defensive Player of the Year, Paul George is Most Improved and J.R. Smith is the Sixth Man Award winner. (Click on any of those
The NFL Draft is upon us, which means some poor 340-pound sucker is going to spend 4 hours in the green room or eight hours at home with relatives and friends waiting for his name to be called. Mel Kiper will come out of his burrow. People will stay glued to their television sets for hours waiting for the next left tackle from Podunk State to be picked. I don’t get it. The NBA does the draft right. Just a couple minuts
If you take Chris “Birdman” Andersen’s stats and project them over 48 minutes, the NBA’s most colorfully tattooed player would be averaging about 36 points and 22 rebounds in the playoffs. Of course, “Birdman” is not a 48-minute player, but an argument can be made that he’ll se a serious uptick in playoff minutes as the Miami Heat continue to advance. And on a side note, Andersen is trying to trademark the name “Birdman” with the U.S. Patent Office — much
NEW YORK — According to a report in today’s Sports Business Daily, NBA viewership was down sharply during the ’12-13 regular season. TNT: After two straight seasons of record figures, TNT saw its average rating down 18% and viewership down 20%. In addition to a lockout-shortened season in ’11-12, several other factors helped contribute to the decline. Superstorm Sandy knocked out many homes in the Northeast at the start of the season. Some 16.9 million homes, including many in N.Y., Boston and
Memphis’ Marc Gasol, who anchored the league’s stingiest defense, is the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. Gasol becomes the first player in Grizzlies history to earn the honor. His teammate, Tony Allen, who received my first-place vote (along with eight other first-place votes), finished fifth. Gasol received 212 of a possible 1,089 points, including 30 first-place votes, from a panel of 121 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Miami’s LeBron James (149 points, 18 first-place votes) and
Indiana’s Paul George will go for his second consecutive playoff triple-double tomorrow night. Today, he gets to bask in the glory of an award. George, who earned his first All-Star Game berth en route to leading the Pacers to the Central Division crown and the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, is the winner of the 2012-13 NBA Most Improved Player Award. George received 311 of a possible 1,080 points, including 52 first-place votes, from a panel of 120 sportswriters and broadcasters